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Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

As far as running Reg. Unleaded in an older coleman lantern or stove.... I have been doing this for a while now in my 1968 model 425D stove and older lanterns and they work great... I do add about 1oz. of automotive fuel injector/carb. cleaner per gal. I have never had a problem yet. I have used about at least 6+gals threw this stove in the last 3 years.... I think what also may be helping this is that all the unleaded gas these days has at least 10% ethenal in it there fore burning cleaner. Also remember to only use the 87 octain or less not more.

I am curious about the Naptha..... where are you finding this and is it cheaper or the same cost as 87 gasoline?

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

Originally Posted by cy

white gas runs much longer and better in colder weather. but tricky for boy scouts to light.

I was a boy scout. Based on what I saw, I wouldn't let a boy scout anywhere near white gas or gasoline. Thankfully our troop stuck to propane with the occasional splash of kerosene to light bonfires for ceremonies.

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

This has some old posts and misleading information .Some points I would like to correct here.

The Coleman 236 and 237 lanterns were designed and built in Canada but the Canadian Div of the company. The two remain the largest and brightest Gasoline and Kerosne lanterns Coleman ever produced. Later they were produced in the USA and Mexico in the form of kits from the Toronto factory. The Influence of the Canadian two post style of lantern can still be seen in the Only remaining large Kerosene lantern still produced the 639B ( product of USA ), Its a direct line it even shares the globe with the 1939 236 Major.....

As for dual fueling of presure lamps there is no issue unless the lantern has a Glyptal coated tank ( this coating was a band aid solution to prevent rust when the brass founts ended production ). Later Epoxy coated founts are safe from the solvent properties of modern gasoline and obviously the older brass and non coated steel are fine.

When using pump gasoline in a lantern there a small issue of clogging since the fuel is not as clean and refined as Naphtha gas. But cleaning a Gen is as easy as burning out the tars and Varnish with a niny torch and removing the carbon or desolving it with carb cleaner.

Some lanterns like the 237 and 247 ( Canadian Kersosene version of the 242 ) are marked " for Gasoline or Kerosene generator must be preheated ", In the case of the 247 the TK66 generator is a compromise that will run a little rich on Kero and a little lean on gasoline so it works. The Canadian 237 used a slightly larger gas tip ( I tip .0085 ) VS US made gens ( V tip .008 ).

The 237 Empire is probably the safest and most reliable multi fuel lantern out there and can be trusted to burn anything from Diesel to Gas.

AS far as the safety of the gas lanterns goes well they are only as safer as the user and I am not sure I would let young Boyscouts use them unsupervised.

For indoor use Coleman made table lamps like the 156 Kerosene ( I think the Kerosene units are not only better performers but safer ) and there is information posted on the net to convert other types using the R55, T66 or T44 generators to kerosene or true dual fuel

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

interesting that you consider a 237 empire the most reliable multifuel... can you post a picture or link to 237 empire?

here's my 237... will this burn kerosene?

Originally Posted by FlameKeeper

This has some old posts and misleading information .Some points I would like to correct here.

The Coleman 236 and 237 lanterns were designed and built in Canada but the Canadian Div of the company. The two remain the largest and brightest Gasoline and Kerosne lanterns Coleman ever produced. Later they were produced in the USA and Mexico in the form of kits from the Toronto factory. The Influence of the Canadian two post style of lantern can still be seen in the Only remaining large Kerosene lantern still produced the 639B ( product of USA ), Its a direct line it even shares the globe with the 1939 236 Major.....

As for dual fueling of presure lamps there is no issue unless the lantern has a Glyptal coated tank ( this coating was a band aid solution to prevent rust when the brass founts ended production ). Later Epoxy coated founts are safe from the solvent properties of modern gasoline and obviously the older brass and non coated steel are fine.

When using pump gasoline in a lantern there a small issue of clogging since the fuel is not as clean and refined as Naphtha gas. But cleaning a Gen is as easy as burning out the tars and Varnish with a niny torch and removing the carbon or desolving it with carb cleaner.

Some lanterns like the 237 and 247 ( Canadian Kersosene version of the 242 ) are marked " for Gasoline or Kerosene generator must be preheated ", In the case of the 247 the TK66 generator is a compromise that will run a little rich on Kero and a little lean on gasoline so it works. The Canadian 237 used a slightly larger gas tip ( I tip .0085 ) VS US made gens ( V tip .008 ).

The 237 Empire is probably the safest and most reliable multi fuel lantern out there and can be trusted to burn anything from Diesel to Gas.

AS far as the safety of the gas lanterns goes well they are only as safer as the user and I am not sure I would let young Boyscouts use them unsupervised.

For indoor use Coleman made table lamps like the 156 Kerosene ( I think the Kerosene units are not only better performers but safer ) and there is information posted on the net to convert other types using the R55, T66 or T44 generators to kerosene or true dual fuel

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

Yes that lantern is a 237 and was designed to burn Kerosene. American 237s and 237Bs are marked Kerosene only but they are quite happy with Naptha gas or pump gas You may find when using the American 237-2991 gas generator the V tip is a bit small for gasoline the lantern flickers and seems to be a little weak. You can correct this by replacing the gas tip with an " R " from a G6 or G6A generator ( Canadian replacement part from the original 635 lantern, this is the lantern that replaced the 236 in 1970 ). The Gen made in the USA for the 635B lantern is no good the gas tip will not fit the 237-2991.

AS the gas tips wear out over time you wil find they richen up and the lantern starts to get orange smelly and dim on Kerosene but it may work juist fine on a mix or pure gasoline. The Amish use a lot of 237s and 236s to this day and most mix camping fuel into the kerosene at about 20% to lean them a touch as they wear and reduce the carbon fouling in the gas genrator tube.

A worn V tip from a dual mantle like like a 220 or an R tip will often lean up and cure a weak yellow flame in a 236. The 236-299 gas generator was last produced in 1990 so parts are hard to get for that one now. Where possible buy the Canadian versions of parts. For some reason the main plant in Witichita has always worn out and used there tooling to long and the varriation is gas tips sizes in brand new parts can often be noticed in a lantern you are tuning. NAFTA killed the Toronto plant so there are no parts made after 1989 from the good Canadian tooling, but all of the spares and parts made there not packaged were sent to the USA. You can usualy pick them out as being red and white packages or they have French English and Spannish instructions ( and or are marked made in Canada )

Thats an interesting picture cy. You apear to have the top from a 228 and globe on that lantern.

Take care of that 237, they are getting hard to come by now and you will not buy a new lantern from Coleman built today with the same quailty and care.

There is another video on Youtube with a fellow selling Chinese copies of a Petromax lantern ( this is an old German design that goes back to the 1930s and is still made and copied around the world ). This fellow claims his lanterns will burn any fuel safely. I disagree because it has lead seals and solder joints and no possitive mechanical locking seal on the pump. The point is a leak with a lantern full of Kerosene or diesel fuel is usualy just a mess, but a leak in a lantern like this with gasoline is a fireball. Stick with Keroesene only in lanterns that were only designed to be kerosene lanterns.

Generaly American style lanterns are gasoline lanterns first that were adapted to kerosene. The short list of lanterns that do this would be the early Colemans, AGMs ( American Gas{tly} Machines ), Alladin, Preway all made nice old Collectable lanterns that were gasoline safe and then modified for kerosene. But with any old lantern these things need to be respected and carefuly serviced and tested before use. AGMs for example are bad for stress cracks in the tanks.

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

I have just bought at a yard sale a 237 mmuch like the pic posted by FlameKeeper. With the only difference being that I can see is the globe (which could be a replacement on mine) and the area below the globe is green paint not stainless like FlameKeepers. It is well dented and used. I'd love if anyone could send me in the right direction on how to restore and ensure I won't blow myself up. LOL, I love older stuff and really want this to become a working lamp and not just a decoration. Any information on the KampKook lcs 41 I just bought would also be a help.

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

I got 6 of the coleman 236 Majors and that part about using a worn V tip from a 220 series just might save me a ton of trouble in finding a generator.

I also have 4 of the 237 Empire Kerosene, 4 of the newer 639, 2 635, and more than just a few of the 220 and 228 D's, E's, F's, J's etc...

I tend to enjoy the Kerosene lanterns a lot. something about pre-heating them reminds me of some of the old Diesel tractors on the farm we and others back home had to heat up as well before starting the main engine.

Not to mention the kerosene lanterns will burn all kerosene products such as petroleum and parafin oil. Least of all that in a Emergency Kerosene and Kerosene products will be much easier to come by then white gas.

I would ask please, if anyone has some generators for the 236, please get with me.

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

Im just reviving a very useful and informative old thread. Thanks to all the great comments here, Im the proud new owner of a 1948 Coleman Empire 237 kerosene lantern in great condition. This one is in the line-up of the brightest ever produced by Coleman and is rated at 500 c.p. All I need now is a new globe and a new fuel cap o-ring before I light-er-up.

5 years ago, I bought a new Coleman Northstar 2000 Dual Fuel lantern and had problems with constant brightness fluctuations. It would get bright and then dim about once every second and cycle back and forth at that pace (about a 25% dip in lumens and then back to full power). After spending hours on the phone with Coleman (and replacing 2 generators, a fuel pickup tube, several mantles, different batches of brand new coleman fuel and unleaded fuel, experimenting with different fuel tank levels and pressures), I gave up and returned the dam thing to the store for a refund. After reading several positive comments online about this lantern, I decided to give it one more try and bought another brand new Coleman 2000 for $125. What a waste of time! It had the exact same problems as the one before it. I havent even mentioned how cheaply these things are built today and all the flimsy stamped parts used throughout. Dont buy one of these pieces of complete garbage. Instead, hunt down an old Coleman lantern in good condition. You can look forward to giving it to your great grandkids for their continued use once you're long gone. 237's are going for around $100 or less for great used ones, and they are built 10 times better than the current models. Coleman still makes the 237 generator tubes for them as well, which isnt the case for most older Coleman lanterns. leacockcolemancenter still sells thorum based mantles manufacturered by peerless. They are less expensive than what walmart sells coleman mantles for. Coleman mantles are very fragile and produce a dim yellowish light. The Peerless branded ones are strong and produce a bright white light that must be at least 25-30% brighter. Its a superior product in every way you could imagine. I also purchased a spare 237 generator from leacock just in case... great people and knowledgeable over the phone.

Thanks to all for "turning me on" to this little known and greatley misunderstood masterpiece from a by-gone era. She's a real looker too!

FlameKeeper: if you ever do drop by again, thanks for all the great information and your considerable knowledge about this lantern. This thing is beautifully crafted and built like a tank.

Re: Coleman White Gas Lantern conversion?

CPF is one of the best internet sites for a varied source of info. I did a google search for Coleman lantern info and ended up here. I'm waiting for a reply from the suggested leacockcolemancenter, but thought additional expertise may help me.

I resurrected an old 220F with a rusty tank bottom and got it working with only new #21 mantles. I dropped a tiny strong magnet into the tank, which is working well collecting rust and loose pieces. So far I've had it operating for hours on naphtha and regular 87 octane gas. I've read somewhere it's best to let new mantles stay lit for the first 30 - 60 minutes. Is that correct?

I've gotten an (older?) 243A Coleman single mantle working too, but the #21 mantle must be too small, I'm guessing, because I have to choke off the fuel or it just flames. I suspect there's not enough volume with a #21. This must be an old Coleman because the generator has a asbestos sleeve to help align the cleaning tube's rod & tip. It looked like the old sleeve was shedding asbestos, so I removed it and just used the spring to align the tip into the top orifice. Any advice will be appreciated.